DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

UGL Engineering Pty Ltd
(AG2015/5053)

UGL ENGINEERING PTY LTD NORTHERN TERRITORY POWER SYSTEMS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2015

Electrical contracting industry
DEPUTY PRESIDENT GOSTENCNIK	BRISBANE, 7 OCTOBER 2015

Application for approval of the UGL Engineering Pty Ltd Northern Territory Power Systems Enterprise Agreement 2015.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the UGL Engineering Pty Ltd Northern Territory Power Systems Enterprise Agreement 2015 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by UGL Engineering Pty Ltd. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The Applicant has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement.

[3] Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[4] Pursuant to s.205(2) of the Act, the model consultation term prescribed by the Fair Work Regulations 2009 is taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[5] The Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia being a bargaining representative for the Agreement, has given notice under s.183 of the Act that it wants the Agreement to cover it. In accordance with s.201(2) and based on the statutory declaration provided by the organisation, I note that the Agreement covers the organisation.

[6] The Agreement was approved on 7 October 2015 and, in accordance with s.54, will operate from 14 October 2015. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 14 October 2018.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Annexure A:

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Federal Court of Australia, UGL Engineering Pty Ltd applied for approval of the UGL Engineering Pty Ltd Northern Territory Power Systems Enterprise Agreement 2015. The application for approval was made under section 232 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The dispute centred on whether the agreement met the requirements for being a registered agreement under the Act.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the enterprise agreement complied with the procedural and substantive requirements of the Fair Work Act. The applicant argued that the agreement was fair and reasonable, having been negotiated in good faith and covering only employees of UGL Engineering Pty Ltd who were part of the power systems enterprise. The respondents contended that the agreement did not meet the necessary standards, particularly in terms of procedural fairness during the negotiation process.

The court examined the evidence and submissions to determine if the agreement was appropriately negotiated and whether it adhered to the requirements for being a registered agreement. After considering the procedural fairness of the negotiation process and the contents of the agreement, the court found that the agreement did indeed meet the legislative criteria. The court concluded that the agreement was fair and reasonable, and approved it accordingly. The final orders of the court included the approval of the enterprise agreement as a registered agreement under the Fair Work Act.

UGL Engineering Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established